- Sixth measles-related death reported amid Pennsylvania outbreak
Source: United Press International
“A sixth measles-related death has been reported in Pennsylvania, where health officials have been battling an outbreak of the highly contagious but vaccine-preventable disease. The death was reported Monday by the Franklin County Coroner’s Office, which identified the deceased as a 39-year-old woman who had several underlying health conditions and had previously been diagnosed with and treated for measles. … There have been a total of 1,136 cases of the disease in the current outbreak as of Friday, with 157 new cases reported over the previous seven days, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s measles dashboard.” (10/12/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/10/13/sixth-death-measles-Pennsylvania/5001791868296/
- Congo: Kabila launches an anti-government front including M23 rebels
Source: ABC News
“Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Monday launched a new political and military coalition of groups opposed to the current government, including the M23 rebels who have captured wide swaths of territory in eastern Congo. Kabila’s new Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, or FRN, includes rebel groups formerly united under the Congo River Alliance, whose former leader Corneille Nangaa will serve as one of the new coalition’s four vice presidents. … President Felix Tshisekedi’s government gave no immediate reaction to the announcement, which is seen as a major challenge to Tshisekedi’s administration and a serious complication for the current peace process with rebels, which has had only limited success.” (10/12/26)
- Annual Fundraiser Update: We’re Falling Behind
Thanks to subscribing contributors CJTS and TM, whose contributions yesterday, totaling $12.50, bring our annual fundraiser total (as of 5am) to $285.50!
We’re past the 10% point toward our goal ($2,751.50, after which supporter GL has pledged to “match funds” for the $5,503 total) … but we’re also past the 14% mark in terms of schedule (92 days). So:
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
We’re a reader-supported publication. You’re a reader. And we only come to you once a year with the strong-arm fundraising stuff. As soon as we hit our goal, I stop doing that for the rest of the year, and MOST of the following year. Let’s get this over with 🙂
Have a great day.
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Ilhan Omar responds to US heimatschutz raid on DC home
Source: New York Post
“‘Squad’ Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) defiantly broke her silence after a Homeland Security Investigations raid of her DC residence on Monday, as she and her allies claimed the action was part of President Trump’s repeated attempts to intimidate her as a political foe. ‘I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,’ Omar said in a statement on X. ‘For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.’ ‘I will not be silenced,’ the congresswoman added in a personal response to the president. … Sources familiar with the law enforcement action indicated that the congresswoman had been the subject of a multi-year probe related to her immigration history, potentially as a result of her father making a false statement on paperwork.” (10/12/26)
- India: “Cockroach” leaders abducted
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Leaders of India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were detained early on Tuesday after they entered a heavily-guarded protest site and chanted slogans demanding the country’s election chief resign over a controversial revision of electoral rolls. Party founder Abhijeet Dipke shared a video showing Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das being taken away by police from Jantar Mantar, a historic Delhi observatory popular for protests. … The detentions came a day after the federal home ministry announced that Jantar Mantar, long associated with public protests in Delhi, would no longer be a designated protest venue. Authorities instead identified three alternative locations where demonstrations can be held with permission.” (10/13/26)
- US regime threatens to cut off intel, weapons to Ukrainian regime
Source: The Hill
“The Trump administration is threatening to cut off intelligence sharing and weapons sales to Europe for Ukraine should Kyiv not halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, multiple outlets reported Monday. The State Department and the Pentagon made the warnings to officials in Ukraine and Europe over the weekend, with the U.S. military directly communicating the threat to Ukrainian commanders, CNN reported. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill. The Financial Times was the first to report on the U.S. warning, which included threats to cut off the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List mechanism for buying American weapons for Ukraine. The initiative is managed by NATO and is used to procure U.S.-produced weapons to be sent to Kyiv.” (10/12/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6142999-ukraine-us-intelligence-sharing-weapons-russia-strikes/
- Iranian regime sets crosshairs on “US-UAE” oil shuttle out of Strait of Hormuz
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Iranian authorities have signalled they intend to disrupt an Arab-operated and United States-assisted shuttle system that has enabled more energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israel war on Iran. With the US naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports in place and sanctions tightening, Tehran has said it will pursue military and diplomatic efforts to put pressure on Washington to submit to its demands regarding reopening the Strait of Hormuz. … Iran has claimed the US accepted some of Tehran’s seven conditions for the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war. But Tehran insists that a deal will only materialise when all its demands are met.” (10/12/26)
- UK: Burnham accuses Russian regime of meddling in Brexit vote
Source: Washington Post
“Prime Minister Andy Burnham sparked fury in Britain on Monday with his assertion that Russia had sought to interfere in the 2016 Brexit vote that took the country out of the European Union, breaking with previous premiers who said there was no evidence Moscow had meddled. Burnham made the remarks on ‘The Rest Is Politics,’ a popular British podcast released overnight, saying he wanted to highlight the danger of Russian misinformation as European countries prepare for elections at a time of hyperpolarization. … His remarks infuriated Brexit supporters, who accused him of resurfacing the issue to cast doubt on the results of a referendum that has divided the British for 10 years.” (10/12/26)
- Pope Leo to be hospitalised on Tuesday ahead of surgery, Vatican says
Source: Reuters
“Pope Leo will go into hospital on Tuesday before surgery to remove a small growth found on one of his lungs, the Vatican said, as the pontiff kept up a busy schedule on Monday, holding seven previously planned meetings in the morning. Leo, 71, said on Sunday that the growth, a small nodule, had been found on a recent check-up, was ‘well-contained’ and had been spotted early. … The Vatican has said the pope’s recovery is expected to take about a week.” (10/12/26)
- Amazon reportedly in talks to buy AI startup Decart in $7 billion deal
Source: Seattle Times
“Amazon is reportedly in talks to purchase the artificial intelligence startup Decart in a $7 billion deal — which would be one of Amazon’s biggest recent acquisitions and one of the largest exits in Israeli tech The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the Seattle tech titan is putting together a deal to purchase Decart, which sells software that lets developers switch more easily between AI chips.” (10/12/26)
- EU approves biggest Russia sanctions package since invasion began
Source: Politico
“The EU approved its biggest package of sanctions against Russia since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, targeting the Kremlin’s ability to make missiles. The bloc’s foreign ministers approved the package during a meeting in Luxembourg, adding 1,600 new listings ‘targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex,’ the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on X. … The sanctions list will last for three years before it needs to be renewed.” (10/12/26)
- Delta delays launch of service to Saudi Arabia over attacks on airport
Source: United Press International
“Delta Airlines’ plans to add nonstop service to Saudi Arabia are being put on hold after deadly attacks on the Riyadh airport that have killed at least 12 people. Delta announced Monday that nonstop flights from Atlanta to Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport will be delayed until March. They were set to begin service on Oct. 23. … The first flight to Saudi Arabia was to take off next week with an Airbus A350-900 aircraft. It would have been the first commercial nonstop flight from the United States to Saudi Arabia by a U.S. airline. The Riyadh airport has had thousands of flights canceled since last week as the Iran-backed militant group the Houthis have escalated attacks on the airport in recent days.” (10/12/26)
- Belgium: Strike Partly Shuts Regime Sector as Budget Deal Delayed
Source: US News & World Report
“Belgium’s public sector was partially shut down on Monday as unions staged a second day of nationwide strike action against planned government budget cuts, amid mounting political pressure on Prime Minister Bart De Wever over a stalled budget agreement. … Rail services, public transport, public broadcasting and schools were all affected as public sector workers protested against government plans. … Belgian media reported that the budget deal could be delayed to late October or early November and that a prolonged deadlock could put the coalition’s cohesion under strain.” (10/12/26)
- Pentagon data breach exposes records of over 3 million people
Source: Fox News
“You can change a password after a breach. You can cancel a credit card. But when your Social Security number gets exposed, you could be dealing with the fallout for years. That is the concern after a major breach involving the Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data Center. If you have served in the military, worked for the Department of War or have other ties to the military community, your information could be among the records involved. A War Department official told CyberGuy that 2.76 million living individuals and 294,000 deceased individuals were affected. Depending on the person, the exposed information can include Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, contact information and military personnel details.” (10/12/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/pentagon-data-breach-exposes-records-over-3m-people
- Federal judge admonishes Trump administration over East Potomac Park tree removal
Source: The Hill
“A federal judge scolded Trump administration lawyers on Monday for failing to provide sufficient notice before cutting down hundreds of trees in East Potomac Park over the weekend, saying she was ‘beyond disappointed’ with the government’s conduct. ‘I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done,’ U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during an emergency hearing, adding that the government had lost ‘all of its credibility’ in the case. Reyes is overseeing a lawsuit brought by the DC Preservation League and two individuals seeking to block an overhaul of the public golf courses on the property, which President Trump has said he wants converted into a championship-caliber course capable of hosting professional tournaments.” (10/12/26)
- Report: Sean “Diddy” Combs rushed from New Jersey prison to hospital due to head injury
Source: New York Post
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was taken out of a New Jersey federal lockup by ambulance over the weekend so he could receive medical treatment for a head injury, according to a report. The 56-year-old rapper – who’s been serving a 50-month sentence on a prostitution-related conviction – was transported from FCI Fort Dix in the Garden State on Saturday morning, according to a report by TMZ. It wasn’t immediately clear how he injured his head or what facility he was taken to. … The disgraced music mogul made headlines Friday, when it was reported he received a harsh penalty at the low-security prison because of his alleged cushy treatment and a contraband cell phone he was accused of using to view racy content.” (10/12/26)
- Economy Nobel prize in economics awarded to Robert E Hall and Michael Woodford
Source: CNBC
“Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford were on Monday awarded the Nobel memorial prize in economics for work that underpins the models used by central banks and governments to ‘smooth out’ periods of boom and bust. The U.S.-born pair were jointly awarded for their contribution to the ‘microeconomic foundations’ that contribute to macroeconomic stability. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was established by Sweden’s central bank in 1968. The winners will split a 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million) prize.” (10/12/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/12/nobel-economics-prize-winner-woodford-hall.html
- UK: Documents falsified to evade extortion of Abramovich’s wealth, BBC finds
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The world’s biggest accountancy firm helped in falsifying documents to hide Roman Abramovich’s wealth and evade tax, BBC Panorama has found. Accounts signed off by Deloitte in Cyprus meant assets such as superyachts, mansions and private jets worth $672m (£508m) vanished from Abramovich’s company accounts. Deloitte also appears to have advised on a scheme to evade a huge tax bill on the oligarch’s wealth through the falsification of documents. … Abramovich’s lawyers said he denies that he evaded tax or concealed his fortune. … For nearly two decades, Roman Abramovich was the most famous Russian oligarch in the UK, welcomed in London where he bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003 and bankrolled the club’s most successful period. But after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he was sanctioned by the UK government as an associate of President Vladimir Putin and forced to sell the club.” (10/12/26)
- Israel: Netanyahu demands probe into sources for award-winning Gaza film NAZA
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for an investigation into the anonymous sources featured in a documentary alleging that Israel’s military killed civilians in Gaza using AI-powered targeting systems. The award-winning film, NAZA, draws on testimony from 24 unnamed Israeli military whistleblowers accusing the army of using the systems to kill numerous civilians in the besieged territory. … Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has called for legal action against the participants to be considered and ordered an investigation into suspected leaks of classified military information used in the film’s production.” (10/12/26)
- Republican lawmakers break with Trump on diesel deal with Russia
Source: Fox News
“President Donald Trump last week touted a diesel agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, asserting that prices for the fuel would swiftly fall, but some Republicans have responded by rebuking the president’s move. … The announcement sparked blowback from some Republicans, including outgoing Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who declared in a post on X that Trump’s ‘policies towards Russia and Ukraine are failures.’ … Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., declared in a post on Saturday, ‘We will be introducing bipartisan legislation to block any and all purchases of Russian oil.’ … A bipartisan group of senators — including Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Ron Wyden of Oregon, as well as GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Curtis of Utah — joined together in a statement pressing the administration to ‘reverse course.'” (10/12/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republican-lawmakers-break-trump-diesel-deal-russia
- Eric Ueland Shouldn’t Lead the Government Accountability Office
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye“Congress shouldn’t need a lecture on why putting Russ Vought’s deputy in charge of its watchdog is a terrible idea. Well, here we are. The White House is considering Eric Ueland as comptroller general, head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Ueland serves as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, under Vought. The administration whose conduct GAO has repeatedly found unlawful now wants one of its senior officials to run the institution that scrutinizes that conduct. This is a terrible idea.” (10/12/260
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/eric-ueland-shouldnt-lead-the-government
- Make Big Brother Bad for Big Business
Source: The Atlantic
by Conor Friedersdorf“[M]ost of Flock’s network and its competitors’ cameras remain in place. And fans of the technology want to keep it that way; they argue that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy on roads, and that a network of cameras that logs every passing vehicle is a vital tool for catching criminals. Most surveillance boosters don’t deny that serious abuses have happened or wholly dismiss privacy concerns. Instead, they urge the use of safeguards and the passage of regulations to address them. But this technology is already ubiquitous. States and localities should not permit its dangers to persist in the hope that one day, our often passive legislators will act. Instead, Americans should work to ban mass surveillance of public roads in every jurisdiction where they can secure support from elected officials until strong protections are in place.” (10/12/26)
- The Government Doesn’t Know What’s Best for You. Why Let It Decide What You Should Eat?
Source: Reason
by Jeffrey A Singer“Governments have spent decades issuing dietary guidelines, sponsoring public health campaigns, and encouraging consumers to cut back on sugary, salty, and fatty foods. Now they’re moving beyond persuasion and adopting more aggressive measures to influence what people eat. In an October 8 article titled ‘Nagging People to Eat Healthily Does Not Work,’ The Economist describes a growing international movement to tax unhealthy foods, restrict advertising, require warning labels, and regulate how supermarkets display and promote their products. Such measures are needed, officials argue, because the earlier approach failed to curb rising obesity rates. … The government has a poor track record in providing nutritional advice.” (10/12/26)
- What Comes After Politics?
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders“In 1992, the urbanist Jane Jacobs argued that civilization runs on two moral codes, which she calls syndromes. 1. Guardian Syndrome prizes loyalty, hierarchy, and force. 2. Commercial Syndrome prizes innovation, production, and trade. For centuries, these two codes split the world between the State and the Market. But remember, these exist only as aggregations of people—bureaucrats and businesspeople. Bureaucrats are supposed to bring order and solve societal problems. Businesspeople are supposed to produce and trade goods and services. But an uncomfortable truth lingers: As State and Market have long sought a negotiated political arrangement called the mixed economy, it has created various subspecies of fascism. … Today, that arrangement is breaking down. It’s breaking down because Guardian Syndrome and Commercial Syndrome are functionally incompatible.” (10/12/26)
- A Hard Look at Libertarianism
Source: Liberal Currents
by Janet Bufton“In 2017, Duke historian Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains argued that the libertarian movement had helped make overt racism in American politics mainstream and undermined liberal democracy. … but she missed the real story. Bizarrely, MacLean focused on Nobel laureate James Buchanan. The far better target would have been ‘Mr. Libertarian’ and co-founder of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, Murray Rothbard. Buchanan was an academic libertarian, while Rothbard spent his later career arguing that libertarianism should ally with the racist, nativist populism of the nationalist right. … The historian Quinn Slobodian takes up MacLean’s task (from a different angle) in his 2025 book, Hayek’s Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ, and the Capitalism of the Far Right. … Despite its limitations, it demonstrates that libertarians had the intellectual tools to resist the far right’s encroachment but, on the main, chose not to use them.” (10/12/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/a-hard-look-at-libertarianism/
- Trump, the modern mercantilist
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“The case that Trump is a latterday mercantilist is surprisingly strong. Mercantilism was never a tidy theory. It was a set of habits that involves treating trade as a contest, counting the surplus as the score, and letting the state steer commerce toward national power. On each count, Trump’s record fits. The mercantilists believed one nation’s gain was another’s loss. Trump speaks in exactly these terms. A trade deficit with a country means America is ‘losing’ to it, and a surplus means winning. Mainstream economists see a bilateral deficit as a mostly meaningless accounting result of millions of voluntary exchanges. Trump sees it as a scorecard.” (10/12/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/trump-the-modern-mercantilist
- Who Owns Your Life?
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith“Ask a young person whether he personally consented to everything the federal government has the legal authority to require of him. If he answers no, the conventional reply is that direct consent isn’t necessary: he is represented by elected officials. But representation is not agency in the ordinary sense. He has signed no contract with his representative, cannot direct his votes, and cannot terminate the relationship even if the representative breaks all his campaign promises. Furthermore, he is still subject to their legislation even if he didn’t vote or if the legislation was passed before he was eligible to vote. How many people alive today voted for legislation establishing a legal counterfeiting racket known as the federal reserve or the income tax and its associated hit squad, the IRS? Or the Selective Service Act of 1918?” (10/12/26)
- Should media have a duty of care to discourage political polarization?
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Winton Bates“Media proprietors may have a moral responsibility to prevent their platforms being used to inflame polarization, but that does not justify government attempts to impose content standards. By suppressing discussion of controversial social and political issues, Australia’s proposed new duty of care laws may well impose harms on the community that far exceed the harms that these laws will prevent.” (10/12/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/10/should-media-have-duty-of-care-to.html
- Radical wannabe Chevalier just said quiet part out loud about violent criminals
Source: New York Post
by staff“New York radical congressional wannabe Darializa Avila Chevalier just said the quiet part out loud: It ‘doesn’t matter’ to her that illegal [sic] immigrant and alleged gangbanger Oscar Belgal has a violent criminal record. She wants him free to roam the streets and terrorize neighbors all the same. Well, nuts to that: Belgal’s violent criminal record ‘matters’ to normal New Yorkers. Enormously. They want thugs like him gone, and they’re beyond grateful ICE agents are risking their lives to boot these menaces from US soil — and keep Americans safe. Alas, Chevalier is not alone. Indeed, she’s giving voice to exactly the kind of scary views of many on the far-left, from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani on down — even if they don’t put it so honestly.” (10/12/26)
- JD Vance’s Walk in the Forest of Forgetfulness
Source: Cato Institute
by Dan Greenberg“Lewis Carroll’s fantasy novels about Alice’s adventures have many virtues; one such virtue is that they regularly help explain the Trump administration. Indeed, one episode in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass — his sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — illuminates an important aspect of politics and human nature. Here’s what happens: As Alice is walking through a deep forest, she suddenly realizes that she cannot recall the proper name of anything. … In a press conference last week, our vice president displayed such forgetfulness. In J.D. Vance’s discussion of new restrictions on H‑1B eligibility, he was asked what he understood ‘socialism’ to be.” (10/12/26)
https://www.cato.org/blog/j-d-vances-walk-forest-forgetfulness
- Thymos and American Foreign Policy
Source: Persuasion
by Francis Fukuyama“Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a speech at the Pnyx in Athens on October 7 …. at the heart of his address he talks about thymos (he transliterates it as thumos) as the core value of Western civilization. This is correct in some fashion, but Rubio’s understanding of the idea is very deficient. … Thymos is at the core not just of Western civilization, but, as Hegel and his interpreter Alexandre Kojève noted, of politics as a whole. The first bloody battle between early human beings was driven by the desire for dominance and recognition, by the willingness to risk one’s life. This struggle for dominance leads to a society of masters and slaves, in which neither party is fully satisfied—the slave for obvious reasons, but the master as well because he is recognized by someone who is only a slave.” (10/12/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/thymos-and-american-foreign-policy
- Now the whole story is exposed: Trump was framed by the Russia collusion hoax
Source: Fox News
by Gregg Jarrett“It was the dirtiest trick ever perpetrated in politics that produced the greatest mass delusion in American history. It was a faux scandal and an epic con job, corrupt from the outset. Fox Nation has produced a remarkable three-part documentary series, ‘Russia! Russia! Russia! The Plot to Stop Trump’. All three episodes premiere on Fox’s streaming network on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. It tells the gripping story of lies and lying people. The damning narrative that Donald Trump somehow colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 presidential election, you’ll recall, consumed the media landscape for more than two years and dominated political discourse. It nearly brought down a duly elected president. So stunning was the abuse of power that this series must be seen to be believed. It is based on troves of recently disclosed government records and other declassified documents.” (10/12/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gregg-jarrett-trump-framed-russia-collusion-hoax-story-exposed
- Should Christa Pike Live?
Source: The Dispatch
by Lyia Dugdale“Christa Pike’s botched execution in Tennessee last week raises a host of questions about what comes next, what Gov. Bill Lee should do, and what is meant by ‘cruel and unusual.’ These are legal questions, but they are also ethical and political questions, and they demand our consideration. As an ethicist, I’m interested in the ought questions. In this case: What ought the state to do after a failed execution attempt? This is not to debate the moral acceptability of capital punishment or even the particulars of Pike’s case. It’s simply to inquire what should come next.” (10/12/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/christa-pike-tennessee-execution-constitution/
- The Coming Out of Jack Smith: A Former Special Counsel Joins the “No Kings” Movement
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“After his recent congressional testimony, former Special Counsel Jack Smith appeared at a ‘Power to the People Fest’ sporting a ‘No Kings’ T-shirt. Aside from a midlife crisis, the most likely explanation is that Smith wanted to send a message, reaffirming his bona fides as an anti-Trump warrior. It was a Comey moment, but without the seashells. The Power to the People Fest featured many whom Smith has long cultivated in the ‘Democracy-is-Ending’ crowd. The organizers billed the event as ‘working to restore and strengthen democracy’ and featured some of Trump’s loudest critics. The top billing went to Bruce Springsteen, who has lately turned his concerts into anti-Trump rave sessions, including comparing Trump officials to ‘Gestapo’ and calling the administration ‘treasonous’. He continued those attacks at the concert with Smith, denouncing Trump as ‘lawless’ and his administration as murderers.” (10/12/26)
- Plan B for Trump’s election intimidation: An iron fist in a velvet glove
Source: The Hill
by Steven J Lepper, Dan Maurer, & Eugene R Fidell“Gen. Dan Caine, the nation’s senior-most military leader, recently told Sen Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) that the U.S. military has ‘no plans’ to be at polling places in November. But President Trump has made it impossible to dismiss fears of military interference. To the contrary, his persistent assault on the integrity of the voting process, his suggestion that Republicans ‘should take over the voting in at least 15 places,’ and his refusal to rule out invoking the Insurrection Act have led many to begin bracing for an imminent collision. Americans across the country are worrying that their constitutionally-assured right to vote will be curtailed by Trump’s increasingly frantic search for anything that will preserve his party’s congressional majorities.” (10/12/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/6141788-trump-military-polling-interference/
- If The Truth Is A Threat To Israel, Then Israel Should Not Exist
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Israel is so evil that it’s actually illegal for Israelis to tell the truth about it. Benjamin Netanyahu has just ordered Israel’s military, its attorney general, and its security agency Shin Bet to investigate and prosecute the soldiers who anonymously shared their experiences in the Gaza Strip with the award-winning investigative documentary [sic] ‘NAZA’. According to Haaretz, Netanyahu accused the soldiers of ‘serious information security offenses, criminal defamation and harm to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests’, adding that ‘there is concern that those involved in the defamatory film committed serious criminal offenses by exposing highly classified information and creating a breach in the information security of a highly sensitive intelligence unit’. Netanyahu’s accusations of ‘defamation’ are contradicted by his other accusation of ‘exposing highly classified information’. The 24 soldiers interviewed for the film are being prosecuted not because they told lies about Israel, but because they told the truth.” (10/12/26)
- Washington Still Wants Moscow Contained
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño“U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly promised he could end the Russo-Ukrainian War quickly. Yet the actions attributed to his administration point toward a more familiar Washington strategy that demands capitulation to the so-called ‘rules-based’ order. The contradiction reinforces an old rule of politics. Watch what officials do, not simply what they say.” (10/12/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/washington-still-wants-moscow-contained/
- To Tackle Affordability, Georgia’s Next Governor Should Start with Cutting Red Tape
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by J Thomas Perdue“In November, Georgians will elect a new governor. Several issues have come to define this election cycle, and the two candidates’ platforms offer significantly different solutions to the problems facing the state. Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and her opponent Rick Jackson will also have to navigate national referendums on their respective parties. But if there is one central issue of this campaign, it is affordability. Budget strain is a concern for Georgia businesses and households alike. No matter who occupies the governor’s mansion in 2027, one problem a new administration must address is the growing burden of regulations from the administrative state.” (10/12/26)
- “Ask Your Doctor:” The Media’s Most Dangerous Tagline
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Alan Cassels“The plotlines are predictable. A slick 60 seconds and we see the fate of worried people suffering some sort of condition ‘ask their doctor’ about Drug X, and soon the new prescription is magically transforming their lives. They turn into bliss and smiles as they romp their way through meadows of wildflowers while, sotto voce, we catch strange murmurs of liver failure and premature death. … Most of the Americans I know seem to be pretty healthy people, but any newcomer confronting all the US screens for the first time might conclude one thing: ‘Man, these people must be really sick.’ They are sick, but not in the way of being physically sick. Sick as in showing all the adverse effects of living in a polluted information ecosystem where toxic levels of drug propaganda drift through the airwaves as freely as exhaust engulfs a freeway.” (10/12/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/ask-your-doctor-the-medias-most-dangerous-tagline/
- The Greatness of Christopher Columbus
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis“It’s time for the Left’s annual anti-Columbus bash. And once again, we will see the total injustice of leftism, their hatred of Western Civilization, their desire to destroy so they can build their godless ‘New World’. Columbus actually found a new world, one that we rejoice to live in. I doubt we’ll want the ‘new world’ the Left has in mind. The problem here with the Left is their fallacious judging — and usually condemning — of everyone who ‘lived in the past’, especially if that person had anything to do with Christianity or Western Civilization. And it’s pure hypocrisy.” (10/12/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/10/12/the-greatness-of-christopher-columbus-n2684474
- The Political Constitution at War
Source: Law & Liberty
by Richard M Reinsch II‘The Iran War’s inception and its effects have brought into high relief the potential fragility and danger for America in its chosen method of waging war by relying on the sole judgment of the president. President Trump embarked on the war without consulting Congress, let alone persuading it or seeking its approval. Our practice of unilateral presidential war-making did not begin with Trump, but his war exemplifies its most troubling aspects.” (10/12/26)
- If Nidal Hasan Execution Is Livestreamed, We Are a Barbaric Nation
Source: The New Republic
by Michael Tomasky“The only countries to carry out public executions in 2025? Iran and Afghanistan. That’s the company Pete Hegseth wants America to keep.” (10/12/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/216503/nidal-hasan-execution-livestreamed-hegseth
- What the UK Terror Law Really Protects
Source: Antiwar.com
by Dick Whittington“If section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000 defines ‘serious (damage to property)’ as terrorism – then on that one word hinges a world of nuance. Section 69 of the Sentencing Act 2020 is the mechanism that enables a judge to attach such a ‘terrorist connection’. So is a broken window just minor criminal damage and a matter for a magistrates’ court, or does it become a ‘serious’ matter and possibly an act of terror to be tried at Crown Court? … Strip away its language of safety and intent, and what this machinery protects is a balance sheet. The government’s own analysts conceded years ago that [Palestine Action] threatens no one. That leaves the Terrorism Act standing guard over the uninterrupted output of the arms factory at Sandwich.” (10/12/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/dick_whittington/2026/10/11/what-the-uk-terror-law-really-protects
- The Great Feminization Comes to Cornell
Source: The Free Press
by Helen Andrews“New York governor Kathy Hochul emphasized her gender when asked on October 3 about her appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate a possible rape at a fraternity house at Cornell University in 2024. Hochul is the first woman to serve as New York’s governor. Letitia James, the woman she appointed as special prosecutor, is the state’s first female attorney general. Seeing these two women take on the Cornell case has a special symbolism, Hochul explained. ‘I’ve heard from a lot of people,’ she said. ‘The image gives them comfort to know that two women perhaps are looking at this differently than men would in the same position.’ She is right. The approach to the law reflected in the New York Democratic officials’ handling of the Cornell case represents a distinctively female perspective. Unfortunately, that perspective is incompatible with the rule of law.” (10/12/26)
- Proposing a Constitutional Amendment
Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen“For fun, here’s a proposal: a constitutional amendment requiring that the federal and all state governments must refrain from any actions in markets except those necessary to (a) protect individuals from harm, including theft and fraud, (b) enforce contractual agreements (as this is needed to prevent harm), or (c) rectify harms it failed to prevent through (a) and (b). This proposed limitation on government interference serves at least three purposes.” (10/12/26)
https://prosociallibertarians.substack.com/p/proposing-a-constitutional-amendment
- New York ICE Shooting Illustrates Deliberate Policy of Harm and Medical Neglect
Source: Common Dreams
by Chuck Idelson“President Donald Trump’s ICE terror campaign against US cities reached a new height October 8 with the dangerous shooting of an unarmed Dominican man, with his 5-year-old child in the car, in a densely populated Manhattan neighborhood. The incident adds to a growing scandal over inhumane ICE treatment of victims they harm. ICE agents have repeatedly interfered with or denied medical care for the victims they shoot. Patients have also been pulled out of hospitals prematurely against medical advice and without authorization of their doctors and other medical professionals.” (10/12/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/new-york-ice-shooting-medical-treatment
- Will the West Awaken?
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“Of course, one of our central tenets is the right, even duty, to criticize our government. But only a woeful lack of historical perspective or a perverse ideological malice (or both) allows some to pretend that ripping apart our society is a thoughtful critique.” (10/12/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/10/12/will-the-west-awaken
- Why Private Rockets Outperform Government Programs at Cape Canaveral
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“Why is a government agency using a private company like SpaceX to take cargo up to its space station? Economics, plain and simple; SpaceX can do it for far less money than it can itself. For example, the government-run Space Shuttle cost taxpayers around $54,000 per kilogram to reach low orbit. SpaceX can do the same for $2,600 per kilogram on its Falcon 9 rocket. NASA used to just dump or burn up its rocket boosters, using them one time; SpaceX reuses its rockets many times, dramatically reducing the cost of each mission, and SpaceX continually reduces the cost per kilogram to get cargo to low orbit and space. … Removing bureaucratic friction caused by government produces local job growth in Florida, lowers costs for essential services, and improves the lives and freedom of millions.” (10/12/260
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/why-private-rockets-outperform-government
- The British Radical Who Used the American Revolution to Curb the Crown
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig“In the spring of 1778, with the war in America going badly, a member of the House of Lords proposed that Britain withdraw its forces and recognize American independence. Charles Lennox, the third Duke of Richmond, was a great-grandson of King Charles II, one of the wealthiest men in the country, and about as well-placed in the British establishment as anyone could be. He was also, for 15 years, its most persistent critic. Richmond is not a name most Americans would recognize. Danielle Allen’s Radical Duke makes a good case that he ought to be.” (10/12/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-british-radical-who-used-the
- What I Saw and Heard in Vance Country
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren“Meigs County is around 79 percent Republican; more importantly, 71 percent of adults typically vote, solidly above the U.S. average. The Democrats should take note as they try to retake Ohio in this year’s elections. Many in the area rely on food stamps. Yet people tend to see their benefits as deserved, since most work and pay taxes, unlike the way they see the people in big cities, who they think depend on the same assistance across multiple generations. It takes little more than a bottle of beer to hear anecdotes suggesting this perspective is racially tinged, as is locals’ view of democratic socialism. Public opinion here is still shaped by local daytime conservative talk radio shows listened to in the truck. Being here you understand that the jumbled beliefs people hold do not always make sense—but they vote based on those beliefs, whether you find them logical or not.” (10/12/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/what-i-saw-and-heard-in-vance-country/
- Quantum Vibe, 10/12/26
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott BieserCartoon. (10/12/26)
- Military chiefs ruling over regional fiefdoms are the problem
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Katherine Thompson“When combatant commanders become more powerful than civilians in the eyes of the media, Washington, and world leaders, it throws off a critical balance.” (10/12/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/hegseth-generals-admirals/
- Trump and Putin: More Than Just Diesel
Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Bryen“On October 9 in the afternoon, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he had struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, arranging deliveries of diesel fuel to the United States and world markets. Trump said that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons ‘immediately thereafter’. Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons ‘within a short period of time after that’, Trump said. … The announcement triggered outrage in Kiev, with Zelensky condemning the U.S. and Trump personally. Zelensky said it was ‘definitely unfair’, ‘definitely not partner-like’, and ‘a weak decision by strong partners’, effectively portraying it as a stab in the back. The Trump administration had been openly asking Kiev and Zelensky not to launch attacks against Russian refineries, but Kiev rejected the American requests.” (10/12/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/10/12/trump-and-putin-more-than-just-diesel/
- James Madison on Human Nature
Source: Law & Liberty
by Aaron Alexander Zubia“The Founders’ constitutional morality demands more than mechanical checks and balances.” (10/12/260
- Is Modi facing his own Bangladesh moment?
Source: Asia Times
by Faisal Mahmud“Demanding the resignation of a minister is one thing. It is uncomfortable for a government, occasionally embarrassing for a prime minister, but ultimately manageable. Ministers can be sacrificed and their departures can be presented as accountability, and governments can move on. Demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner is quite another matter and for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the difference could hardly be more consequential. The latest wave of protests in New Delhi centers on allegations of widespread voter manipulation through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and other suspected electoral irregularities, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.” (10/12/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/is-modi-facing-his-own-bangladesh-moment/
- Reason Roundtable, 10/12/26
Source: Reason
“J.D. Vance Is Playing Dumb About Socialism.” (10/12/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/10/12/j-d-vance-is-playing-dumb-about-socialism/
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/12/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Citizens Detained in Saudi Arabia Over Attack Photos, IRGC Strikes More Ships in Hormuz, and More.” (10/12/26)
- The lost politics of Ammon Bundy
Source: Reason
“Once a leading figure in the anti-government militia movement, Ammon Bundy is now speaking out against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, arguing that the same federal overreach he spent years fighting is now being directed at immigrants.” (10/12/26)
https://reason.com/video/2026/10/12/the-anti-government-rebel-who-turned-against-maga/
- Rising, 10/12/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle reportedly asking a Trump donor to send $100,000 for her credit card bill.” (10/12/26)
- LibertyDad, episode 778
Source: LibertyDad
“Does The Bible Command The Death Penalty?” (10/12/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/12/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Will Trump’s Russia Diesel Deal Save The Midterms?” (10/12/26)
- Right Now With Perry Bacon, 10/12/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Two Choices in Iran.” (10/12/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/216507/trump-running-foreign-policy-options
- Punk Rock Libertarians Podcast, episode 595
Source: Punk Rock Libertarians
“The crew dives into the latest federal giveaways as Kyle breaks down the $1,000 ‘Trump Accounts’ for newborns and the weird, reptilian-like press conference featuring Susan Dell. The hosts debate the Pentagon’s unprecedented plan to livestream the military firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, clashing over state-sanctioned murder and the ‘just following orders’ defense. Shifting to public health tyranny, the gang covers New York slapping Amish schools with $2,000-a-day fines over measles vaccine mandates and Maryland sticking to its own aggressive jab schedules. Finally, they react to Pete Hegseth’s anti-woke War Department rhetoric, while Alex and Kyle confirm the bizarre, intrusive physical exams required to join the ranks.” (10/11/26)
- NPR Politics, 10/12/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“What does the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq mean for the region?” (10/12/26)
- Make It Make Sense, 10/12/26
Source: Washington Post
“Kat Timpf: The right has an affordability problem.” (10/12/26)
- The Headlines, 10/12/26
Source: New York Times
“Growing Threats Against Public Officials, and Trump’s Diesel Deal With Putin.” (10/12/26)
- EconTalk, 10/12/26
Source: EconTalk
“The Great Fertility Collapse (with Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde).” (10/12/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/the-great-fertility-collapse-with-jesus-fernandez-villaverde/
- Neon Liberalism, episode 94
Source: Liberal Currents
“Samantha Hancox-Li and Ben Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare, discuss how we went from the triumph of the fall of the Berlin Wall to our current world: more war, more conflict, and no end in sight. How did structural factors combined with strategic choices lead to a world where peace has broken down and major power war has returned? Spoiler: it starts in Iraq.” (10/11/26)
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 10/12/26
Source: The Dispatch
“The Tumultuous, Remarkable Middle East | Interview: Simon Sebag Montefiore.” (10/12/26)
- The Permanent Questions, 10/11/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Do Human Beings Have Souls?” (10/11/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/10/do-human-beings-have-souls/688931/
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/11/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Saudi Airstrikes Killed 66 Yemeni Civilians in September, US Bombs Ship Near Iran, and More.” (10/11/260
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 10/10/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Big Beautiful Lawsuit Against Angela McArdle and Austin Padgett.” (10/10/26)
- Ian Proud on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews Ian Proud about how he recently traveled to Russia to hear a speech from Putin, only to be detained by his own government upon his return. Scott and Proud talk about what happened and why he decided to go to Russia. They then discuss the broader state of the war.” (10/10/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/10-5-26-ian-proud-on-getting-detained-by-the-uk-government/
- The Good Fight, 09/10/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Why America’s Real Wealth Isn’t in Silicon Valley.” (10/09/26)
- Serious Trouble, 10/09/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Not Paid for By the US Government.” (10/09/26)
https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/not-paid-for-by-the-us-government